27062021 - Kaduna, Borno, Niger, Benue strruggle over 3 million IDP

PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 27, 2021
NO IGBO MARGINALISATION STATEMENT:
Gov Umahi under attack
•Ohanaeze Youth Council: Gov is child of opportunity
out to satisfy Fulani power brokers
By Chris Onuoha
Governor Dave Umahi
of Ebonyi State is under
attack over the claim
credited to him that Igbo
people are not marginalized
in Nigeria as Ndigbo youths
described the statement as
unfortunate.
The youths, under the aegis
of Ohanaeze Youth Council
(OYC), called the governor
a child of opportunity
desirous of satisfying the Fulani
power brokers for his
selfish political interests.
Umahi, who is also the
Chairman of South-East
Governors’ Forum, Mr. Dave
Umahi, had said it will be
difficult to prove that the
South-East is marginalised
as perceived by people of the
region.
The governor, while fielding
questions during a live
television programme, stated
that every region in the
country had been marginalised
in one way or the other.
According to him, misinformation
has contributed to
fueling the agitations for secession
and unrest in the
South-East.
He expressed regret that
those in the position to educate
the people had failed to
do that.
His words: “You see this
word ‘marginalisation’ is so
ambiguous. If you ask some
regions, they will feel that
even other regions are marginalising
them.
“My position about this is
that let us get all the details
of marginalisation. I cannot
say that there are not some
pains in terms of some of the
issues in the South-East and
so with other regions.
“So, we are saying to our
youths we don’t want to
move away from a united
Nigeria, that whatever may
be their grievances we can sit
down and discuss.
“There is a lot of misinformation
and I will give an example.
I will like to say this.
When we cry as Ndigbo that
we don’t have a service chief,
it is not true. Part of Delta is
Igbo, part of Rivers is Igbo.
“We have the Chairman of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo coming
from Delta State. We have
somebody from Delta State
who is (CDS), part of the joint
chiefs and people are still
saying we are not represented
at the Security Council
meeting.
“I want to disagree with
that. When the late Attahiru
was the Chief of Army Staff,
our brother was number 15
in ranking and Attahiru, from
out of love and relationship,
took him from number 15 to
make him second-in-command.
“The man ought to have
told our people this favour
done to you. We are representing
you; so that we appreciate
the late Chief of Army
Staff and appreciate Mr.
President because the actual
order of the military is actually
the number two, who is
in charge of operations and
logistics. There is misinformation.
“And when it was time to
replace the service chief, they
said the man is second-incommand
and he is from the
South-East. He is number 15.
For example, I was not
aware that somebody from
From left: Inductee, Prof. Engr. Emmanuel Aluyor, Vice President, Nigerian Academy of
Engineering (NAE), Engr A. Onwualu, and President, NAE, Engr. Alex Ogedegbe, during
the Academy’s 2021 Life Achievement Awards & Induction of new Fellows, held at University
of Lagos, last week. Photo: Kehinde Shonola
14 killed in Osun, Delta auto crashes
By Festus Ahon, Asaba,
Shina Abubakar, Osogbo
14 persons were killed in
separate accidents in
Osun and Delta States at the
weekend.
The breakdown shows that
11 died in the Osun crash
which occurred along Gbangan-Ibadan
Road when two
buses collided while the Delta
incident that killed three
involved a Sport Utility Vehicle
(SUV) and a tricycle.
According to the spokesperson
for Osun State Command
of the Federal Road Safety
Commission, Agnes Ogungbemi,
the Gbongan-Ibadan
Road accident occured on Friday
night opposite Ayedaade
local government secretariat.
The accident involved two
commercial buses, a white
Mazda E2000 with registration
number KJA392YA and
a Toyota Hiace bus registered
GWL427YM which had a
head on collision.
Ogungbemi added that the
corpses of 10 victims were
taken to the Obafemi
Awolowo University Teaching
Hospital morgue while
one was taken away by the
family.
She added that 16 of the 22
injured victims were taken to
a hospital in Gbongan just
as the remaining six were taken
to Central Hospital in
Osogbo.
Residents of Asaba, Delta
State capital, were thrown
into mourning after an accident
involving an SUV and
a tricycle left three persons
dead.
The accident, which occurred
along Ibusa Road, before
the popular Koka junction
on the Benin-Asaba-Onitsha
expressway, saw the driver
of the Lexus ramming into
the tricycle, killing the three
the South-East is the secondin-command
in the Navy or
Air Force.”
While reacting to Umahi’s
comment, OYC National
President, Comrade Igboayaka
O. Igboayaka, noted that
“marginalization is an understatement
compared to the
nauseating political cum economic
ordeal of Ndigbo in the
Nigeria project”.
According to Igboayaka,
the Ndigbo have crossed the
line of marginalization and
entered into political oppression
50 years after the genocide
against Ndigbo by the
British and Nigeria governments.
“Gov. Umahi seems to be
lacking sense of history about
the Igbo political ordeal in
Nigeria. It appears the removal
of history from the Nigerian
education curriculum
affected Gov. Umahi even
more than the new generation”,
a statement by Chukwuemeka
Chimerue, Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity
to the OYC leader, quoted
his boss as saying at the
weekend.
“Gov. Umahi either has a
poor definition of marginalization
or suffering sentimentalism
that have eaten deep
into his human reasoning on
the past and present realities
on ground about Ndigbo,”
Igboayaka noted.
He added: “The unguarded
utterances of Gov. Umahi
are part of the reason the agitation
for self-determination
of over 97% of Igbo new generation
has gone out of control
from the Igbo political
elites.
“Gov. Umahi using the appointment
of the Chief of Defence
Staff, Maj. Gen. Irabor,
an Igbo native from Delta to
justify that Igbo are not marginalized
was childish, unjust
and a pure anti-Igbo comment.
“Does Gov. Umahi really
move around Igbo land to see
the level of economic and infrastructural
decay in Igbo
land?
“Has Gov. Umahi gone to
Oziza River in Afikpo, a potential
seaport neglected and
abandoned by the Nigeria
Government? “Does Umahi
know that Oziza River links
Calabar Sea and, by extension,
the Atlantic Ocean?
“Does he know that Afikpo
and Abakaliki can become a
business hub in Igbo land if
Oziza River is dredged and
maritime business is commenced
there which will lift
over 500, 000 people out of
poverty and make over 100
Ebonyi youths gainfully employed?
“Has the governor gone to
Azumini Blue River and
Obuaku River in Ukwa East
of Abia State? There you have
a potential seaport with 25-
30 nautical miles to the Atlantic
Ocean which, if
dredged and maritime business
commenced there, Aba
will turn to a rounding point
of industrial hub in West Africa.
“Has Gov. Umahi also
gone to Ihiala Ulasi River
Oseakwa/Oguta Osemotor
River that is only 18 nautical
miles to Atlantic Ocean, the
deepest natural river in Nigeria
with over 20 meter deep
without dredging?
“Has Umahi questioned
why this project was abandoned
since 1957 when it was
discovered by the British/Nigerian
government?
“Has Umahi forgotten that
he grew up to see railway in
Afikpo and ask why the railway
in Alaigbo is not functional
today?
“Is Gov. Umahi not aware
that the Federal Government
recently awarded and completed
modern railway double
gauge for the North and
South-west, and awarded single
gauge that is no longer
used in any part of the world
to Ndigbo?
“Which dictionary did Gov.
Umahi pick the definition of
marginalization from?
“Is Gov. Umahi not aware
that the Federal Government
signed a contract of
$2.8b gas project to Northern
Nigeria yet Alaigbo
that produces the gas has no
single gas pipeline?
“Who taught Umahi in
school, who were his primary
and secondary school
teachers? Was he not taught
with examples, the meaning
of marginalization?”
Igboayaka warned Umahi
to stop opening wounds
and hitting untreated
wounds of the travails of
Ndigbo in the “failed Nigerian
project” if he has no
intention of proffering credible
solution or ideas, stressing
that Igbo are not only
being marginalized but
also oppressed and killed by
the Nigerian government
through security agents.
occupants, including the driver,
on the spot.
An eye witness said: “The
SUV driver wanted to escape
but people around stopped
him. This is a very busy area
because of the parks that are
here.”
The source said a mob immediately
descended on the
driver and beat him to stupor,
adding that efforts made
by sympathisers to save the
lives of the victims were futile
as they died on the spot.
The source added that if not
for the swift intervention of
the police, the mob would
have set the Lexus driver and
his car ablaze.
Confirming the accident,
the Acting Police Public Relations
Officer in Delta, DSP
Bright Edafe, said his men
rescued the Lexus driver from
the mob.
Gunmen abduct another Ekiti monarch
By Rotimi Ojomoyela
Former National Assembly Clerk,
Omolori, hails Kogi’s Gov. Bello at 46
Former Clerk to the
National Assembly,
Alhaji Mohammed Ataba
Sani Omolori has fecilated
the Kogi State governor,
Yahaya Bello on the occasion
of his 46th birthday.
Bello clocked 46 years
penultimate Friday.
Omolori, who is the Ciroma
of Ebiraland, said he
was deeply excited to join
other millions of well wishers
to rejoice with the governor
on the occasion of his
46th birthday.
According to the retired
Clerk: “Celebrating your
birthday, in its uniqueness,
is not just about rejoicing
over the addition of another
year but about gratitude
and praises to Almighty
Allah for His blessings
Implement new professional cadre for
pharmacists, govs urged
Johnny, Delta Ijaw APC lauds
Nwaoboshi's defection to party
Unknown gunmen
have kidnapped
the Eleda of Eda
Ile in Ekiti East local government
area of Ekiti
State, Oba Benjamin Oso.
The monarch was said to
have been kidnapped in the
presence of his wife at their
farm at Eda Ile, Friday
evening.
This happended barely
two months after the
Obaadu of Ilemeso in Oye
local government area
,Oba David Oyewumi, was
abducted by gunmen.
A source in the community
told journalists in
Ado-Ekiti,yesterday, that
the monarch and wife
would have been kidnapped,
but for the pleading
made by the traditional
ruler.
“The Oba and the wife
went to the farm and were
accosted by these gunmen.
The two would have been
kidnapped, but the monarch
begged the bandits to
free his wife, which they
agreed with”, he said.
The Commander of the
Ekiti State Security Network
called Amotekun,
Brig Joe Komolafe, confirmed
the abduction.
that have enabled your
achievements so far.”
He said further, in a letter
he personally signed to
the governor dated June
17, 2021, that: “The opportunity
to govern your
State within the age bracket
is rare and therefore, a
great feat.”
“You will therefore appreciate,
your Excellency,
our hightened sense of joy
and happiness as we celebrate
you with prayers to
Allah (SWT), asking that
He continues to bless you,
guide and direct the determination
as well as pursuit
of your endeavors and
your aspirations in continuous
service to your family,
Kogi State, Nigeria and
humanity in general".
By Anayo Okoli
PHARMACISTS have
called on state governments
across the country to
domesticate and implement
Pharmacy Consultancy Cadre
within the health system as
approved by the Federal Government,
saying it would improve
the health sector.
They expressed regrets that
only a few states have commenced
the implementation
of the Consultancy cadre since
it was approved on September
11, 2020, through circular
number HCSF/CSO/
HRM/1274/T3.
The circular accorded
pharmacists who are Fellows
of West African Postgraduate
College of Pharmacists consultant
status, but many states
are yet to join in the implementation,
pharmacists in
each state have been urged to
lobby their governors to domesticate
and implement it.
To familiarize the newly
approved cadre and the attendant
responsibilities, a
zonal workshop was organized
for those of them in the
South East and South-South,
in Enugu, yesterday.
In his remarks, the Registrar,
Pharmacists Council of
Nigeria, Elijah N. A, commended
those who worked
assiduously to ensure the approval
of the Pharmacists
Consultant cadre in Nigeria.
Mohammed said pharmacists
have been equipped with
vast skills set, which he regretted
are yet to be fully deployed
to achieve the desired
result.
He expressed confidence
that with “this new cadre,
there would be abundant opportunities
to deploy every
skill acquired during the consultancy
training.”
The Ijaw leaders and
members of All Progressives
Congress APC in Delta
State, have lauded the timely
defection by Senator Peter
Nwaoboshi, representing
Delta North Senatorial district,
from the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party PDP to
the ruling All Progressivee
Congress APC.
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi
was formally received into
APC by President Muhammadu
Buhari at the Presidential
Villa on Friday.
In a statement yesterday, the
former APC Delta South Senatorial
aspirant, Chief
Michael Johnny, said, '' on
behalf of Ijaw leaders and
members of All Progressives
Congress APC in Delta State,
we commend and congratulate
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi
for joining the ruling All Progressives
Congress APC in
Delta State''
The former Chairman of
Egbema Gbaramatu Communities
Development Council,
said the APC's journey to
Govt House, Asaba in 2023
was on track, adding that the
defection by Senator Nwaoboshi
to APC and many others
who are also planning to
join the APC, is a pointer that
APC is determined to win the
next Governorship election in
Delta State.
He called for unity and understanding
in Delta State’s
APC, noting that ''all hands
must be on deck to ensure that
the up coming APC congress
is successful''.